The implementation of the Water Framework Directive in The Netherlands: Does it promote integrated management?

The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC; WFD) is one of the most important European water directives of the past years. The WFD follows an integrated approach, but does it also promote integrated management in practice? In the Netherlands, the WFD has been implemented keeping the existing legal, financial and institutional framework intact as much as possible. An advantage of this arrangement is that the setting of objectives, the selection of measures for reaching the objectives and funding are well tuned to each other. This creates good conditions for the implementation of the programme of measures. A downside of this arrangement is the complexity of coordination. Coordination between different levels within the water management sector was relatively successful, but coordination with other sectors was not so successful, leading to a programme of measures consisting almost exclusively of water management measures. In the various coordination processes the role of intermediaries was significant, by supplying expertise or improving the coordination process or smoothing relations.